County ends tiring process, approves 1101 plan
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“This is one less thing on my plate,” said County Executive Carol Hamblen. “We’re ready to move on to bigger and better projects.”
The ratification of the hotly debated plan was the culmination of a day of meetings that included six public hearings, specially called meetings of the Morrison Board of Mayor and Aldermen at 6 p.m., the Warren County Commission at 6:30 p.m., the McMinnville Board of Mayor and Aldermen at 7 p.m., and lastly, an 8 p.m. meeting of the 1101 Growth Plan Coordinating Committee.
The city of McMinnville’s rejection of a previous 1101 plan early in May left Hamblen scrambling to draft a new plan and schedule meetings and public hearings, some requiring a 15-day notice, in order to meet the June 14 deadline.
A new plan was eventually drafted at a May 30 meeting which included representatives from the county and the cities of Morrison and McMinnville. A new map, presented by the city of McMinnville, was voted on and approved by the Coordinating Committee and subsequently presented to the three governing bodies for approval.
The 15-day notice required for the public hearings resulted in the tight timeline Thursday since, to meet the requirements of the law, the hearings had to be held before the two cities and the county could hold their votes.
Considering the bumpy road officials had traveled to get there, Thursday’s meetings presented a comparatively smooth path for local officials.
During the special session of the Warren County Commission, commissioners passed the plan with minimal discussion and no opposition.
Calling the 8 p.m. meeting of the Coordinating Committee to order, Hamblen noted for the record that representatives of all three governing bodies were present.
“I will report on behalf of the Warren County Commission,” she announced, “that the map and plan proposed was adopted unanimously.”
She then turned to Joe Hefner who represented Morrison.
“We adopted the map,” Heffner said. “It was unanimous.”
McMinnville Mayor Royce Davenport then indicated city officials had also adopted the map.
Hamblen then addressed the members of the Coordinating Committee noting all three governing bodies had adopted the plan and calling for a motion to ratify the plan as presented. A vote was then called and passed unanimously.
Hamblen then signed the plan and indicated she would personally hand deliver the map to state officials Friday, thus meeting the deadline.
Tennessee legislators passed the 1101 Growth Plan law in 1998 in an effort to curb urban sprawl and encourage local governments across the state to draft and adopt a formal growth plan for the next 20 years.
Since then, the plan has been through its ups and downs in Warren County, including a failed attempt in 2001 to adopt a metro style of government, which would have exempted the county from the law, and local municipalities Morrison and McMinnville battling over disputed land annexations and the size of their urban growth areas.